Titan Force

Colorado Springs in 1983, Mario Flores, his siblings John and Stefan got together to form a metal band. In the beginning the band was named Titan and released a 4-track demo tape a few months later. After the demo release the recruited Bill Richardson as a guitarist/keyboardist. This line up persisted a few years, before they managed to find a vocalist after renaming themselves to Titan Force. Harry Conklin, known for his work with Jag Panzer, joined Titan Force in 1987/88 after being involved with Satan's Host and playing a few live shows with Riot. The band got in contact with Harry in the early days when Titan played a few times as an opening band for Jag Panzer. Harry Conklin, with his unique vocal style, added a whole new dimension to the Titan Force's sound, which developed from heavy metal to melodic power metal with a progressive touch. The 2-track demo tape with the songs ``Fool on the run`` and ``Immigrant song`` was recorded. But even though Titan Force managed to play a very unique type of power metal mixed with progressive elements, no record company offered the band the ability to release their material at first. Since their first demo didn't get positive reactions from record companies, the band entered the stage once again to record the professional 5-track demo tape entitled ``Blaze of Glory``. This demo tape was the reason for a small German metal label (U.S. Metal Records) to offer the band a contract. The self-titled debut album was released on that label in 1989 and received fantastic acclaim in most fanzines and magazines. Due to being signed to a small label like U.S. Records the album didn't sell nearly as well enough to match the music's promise. Nonetheless, U.S. Metal Records kept Titan Force under contract for another album, which came out in 1991. Though ``Winner / Loser`` offers songs which are a bit easier to listen to than its predecessor, it still contains lot's of progressive, almost jazzy, parts. But like ``Titan Force`` the album didn't sell well enough and in the end U.S. Metal Records, which by that time merged with another small record company (Shark Metal Records), cancelled the record deal. Without a deal but already having a few new songs, Titan Force were finally able to play a very short tour in Germany, together with Anvil and local newcomer Scene X Dream. Once again the critics were enthusiastic about Titan Force's music and live performance. The 2 new songs ``Darkness`` and ``Only The Strong`` that Titan Force introduced to the German audience were later used on a 4-track demo CD called ``Only The Strong`` which the band recorded to find a new record deal. Unfortunately times in music were changing, and in a time when Grunge was popular, no record company was willing to sign a band like Titan Force. When Harry Conklin got the offer to rejoin his first band Jag Panzer he couldn't turn the offer down. After Harry's departure, the band Titan Force began to fall apart, and when Bill Richardson died it was the end of the band for a long while. The Flores brothers first carried on under the name of Hip Pocket and played radio oriented rock. Harry Conklin nowadays is better known for his work in the still active Jag Panzer while Titan Force, after a handful of reunion shows (for example Germany's Bang Your Head!? Open Air 2002) is on hold. After their reunion there were rumors going round about Titan Force recording a new album, Unfortunately this album hasn't been released yet.